Sue Trevaskis has decided to step back from the Shepparton Show committee after five years as president.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Sue Trevaskis is stepping down from her role as Shepparton Showgrounds Advisory Committee president, but her involvement will continue.
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Her passion for the arts is what kick-started her journey with the Shepparton Show.
“I’ve been involved with the Shepparton Show since about 1992-93, with the arts and craft pavilion, which also includes the cooking section, so I’ve been on the ladies’ committee since then,” Sue said.
Her reasoning? Simple.
“I like the show, I like exhibiting,” she said.
“My first exhibit was when I was in Year 7, through our needlework classes.
“I made a little clown and my best friend, she made a big fluffy rabbit and we both entered, and I was sure she was going to win because hers was big and fluffy, and I just had a little clown, and I won, so that was really exciting, but then I didn’t enter anything for a very long time.”
When Sue was pregnant with her first child, she began looking for something to add to her schedule.
Her sister was already on the committee, so she joined too.
“I’ve been president for the last five years, but decided it was time for me to step back and let someone else have a go,” Sue said.
“Now I’m just focused back on the ladies’ committee section and my little shed, and I’m happy to give that a lot of attention.”
Her first couple of years as president weren’t as smooth sailing as one would hope.
“My very first show in 2020, I cancelled the show, and then I did it again in 2021, so I had two years of organising the show and then having to pull the pin,” she said, talking about the years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, 2022 was narrowly uninterrupted by the October 2022 floods, with the show grounds becoming an emergency centre just one week after they had finished cleaning up the show.
Sue Trevaskis just before the 2022 Shepparton Show.
Sue said her favourite show to be a part of was the 140th anniversary show, as some traditional events came back.
“We brought back some of the traditional things that are no longer at the show.
“We had Miss Showgirl, so that was exciting, and we had a past showgirl who came as one of the judges as well.
“We brought back wood chopping. It’s always a good thing to watch, but once again, that’s become financially unviable because the logs are so expensive, but we’ve actually got them back this year.”
Even though she’s removing her president title, she will continue to enter the competitions, which has become a family tradition.
“My kids have entered through the arts and craft and the cooking and photography, they’ve all won ribbons for best exhibits,” she said.
“I never won one, so they all brag, but now I’ve recently won two ‘best exhibit’ ribbons and then last year, my grandson entered a little painting, and he got the best exhibit as well.
“So we’ve got three generations of ribbons happening.”
Looking back on her time, Sue only had positive things to say about the committee.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time on the committee. I’ve made some lifelong friends, I love the Shepparton Show and I will continue supporting it for as long as I can.
“I’ve just decided that it’s time to step back from the main committee and concentrate just on our little shed.
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